now, where the u.S. Navy is positioning ships in the mediterranean. The entire middle east on-edge. Terry moran in beirut this morning. The warships are in place. Congress getting briefed. Inspectors getting out. Everything falling in place for a strike. Reporter: It certainly is, george. The sense this morning out here, though, is that the march to war has slowed a step or so, just over the last 24 hours because the obama administration's made clear for all of the president's tough talk, america's not going to do this alone. Britain and other key allies have said they want to wait for the u.N. Inspectors to get out. As you said, that's not going to happen until this weekend. And more broadly, there's a question in the air here and in washington and other capitals, what exactly is an attack supposed to accomplish? What are the chances of success? What are the risks of failure? There's no question that war is in the air. But the march has slowed. There's a sense of a pause. Another question is what kind of retaliation would there be if there is a strike? And what do you hear about the mood in damascus? I know thousands have come across the border from syria, into lebanon, where you are. Reporter: No question, george. The people of damascus and of syria, who have endured two years of war, are bracing themselves for an attack. There are people getting out of town. There is a rallying, perhaps government-sponsored, around president assad. People marching in the street, honking their horns. We're hearing that at military bases and government offices, they are clearing out. They are waiting. We reopened our beirut bureau, down in lebanon. This is terry's first big assignment as chief foreign correspondent. Let's get the other top

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